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:he evils of tobacco. 



THE 



USE OF TOBACCO, 



THE EVILS, 



PHYSICAL, MENTAL, MRAL, AND SOCIAL, 



RESULTING THEREFROM. 



JOHN H. GRISCOM, M. D., 



PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT 
OF SCIENCE AND ART, AND TWENTY-THREE YEARS ATTEND- 
ING PHYSICIAN OF THE NEW YORK HOSPITAL. 



G. P. PUTNAM & SON, 

661 Broadway. 

1868. 







Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

G. P. PUTNAM & SON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New York. 



THE TROW & SMITH 

BOOK MAXUFACTURINO COMPANY, 

4fi, 4«, 50, Greene Street, N. Y, 



THE USE OF TOBACCO 



AND 

ITS EVILS. 



The effects of Tobacco upon the physiological 
organs and functions are as clearly manifest and 
understood as those of any other medicinal sub- 
stance. It has long been included as an article of 
the Materia Medica, and is as well known to pos- 
sess properties available for the treatment of cer- 
tain diseases, as is Opium, Ipecacuanha, Digitalis, 
Belladonna, Camphor, or any other. 

Like most other medicinal vegetables, its pecu- 
liar powers are dependent upon a special ingredi- 
ent, which is capable of being extracted in a 
separate and distinct form, and which, in its natural 
state, is distributed through the whole structure of 
the plant. This ingredient is in the form of a 
Volatile Oil, obtainable by distillation at a high 
temperature, and in which the peculiar properties 



6 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

of the plant are nearly all concentrated. It is 
known by the name of Nicotine, and is remarkable 
for an unusual combination of properties. In its 
separate and pure form, it has been demonstrated 
to be a virulent poison, when administered inter- 
nally, acting as rapidly as Prussic acid or strych- 
nine. A single drop of the oil injected into the 
body of a cat by Sir Benjamin Brodie, caused its 
death in five minutes ; and double that quantity 
administered in the same manner to a dog was 
followed by the same result. An instance occurred 
in Brussels, in 1846, of a homicide produced in a 
few minutes by a small quantity of nicotine being 
forced into the mouth of the victim.* 

A single drop applied to the tongue of a cat will 
cause convulsions, and in two minutes, death. 
More recently, a simple decoction of 12 grains of 
the plant itself, in six ounces of water, used as an 
enema, proved fatal to a human adult (Brit, and 
Foreign Med. Eeview, Vol. XII., p. 562). Sir Ast- 
ley Cooper and Sir Charles Bell have also related 
cases of mortality resulting from the same cause. 

Another illustration of the poisonous effects of 

* It was proved that the criminal, known as Count Bocarme, 
had prepared a 6mall quantity of the oil by the distillation of 
tobacco, and forced it into the mouth of his brother-in-law, 
30 years old, causing his death in a few minutes. 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 7 

the plant itself very recently occurred in Stafford- 
shire, England. A coroner's inquest was held on 
the body of a respectable grocer, aged 29, who had 
been drinking, and put into his mouth the greater 
portion of half an ounce of tobacco. He would 
not remove it from his mouth, and he became in- 
sensible, falling suddenly, and apparently swallow- 
ing a portion of the tobacco. He died in three 
days, and the verdict was according to this evi- 
dence. 

Another demonstration of its fatal influence 
has very recently occurred in Ohio, reported by 
Dr. W. J. Tyrell. He was called to see a spright- 
ly little girl who, three weeks previously, had her 
upper lip burned and bruised by falling upon a 
cooking stove. On the day before his visit she 
had been as well as usual all the forenoon, but in 
the afternoon her mother had decided to heal the 
sore ; for which purpose she emptied the ashes 
from her pipe, then with her finger wiped the 
oil from the bowl, and applied it to the lip. The 
effect was violent convulsions, resulting in death 
within twenty-four hours. 

Like all other substances possessed of these ac- 
tive properties in their pure form, this ingredient, 
when applied to the animal structure in its diluted 
form, by smoking and chewing tobacco, exhibits 



8 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

its influence in various other modes. Thus, it 
sometimes acts as a sedative, a narcotic, an emetic 
and a diuretic. In addition to these, when tobacco 
is snuffed up the nostrils, it excites violent sneez- 
ing and copious secretion of mucus ; when chewed, 
it irritates the lining membrane of the mouth, and 
increases the flow of saliva ; and when used as an 
injection, it acts as a cathartic. 

But its most powerful effects are upon the ner- 
vous system, and the mental faculties. In very 
moderate quantities, it sometimes quiets restless- 
ness, and produces a state of general languor ; but 
when extensively used it often produces confusion 
of the head, dizziness, stupor, faintness, nausea 
and vomiting, and great debility of the circulation, 
frequently resulting in alarming and sometimes 
fatal prostration. Coldness of the skin, and occa- 
sional convulsions are produced by its long con- 
tinued and excessive use in the form of smoking 
and chewing. 

The action of the heart is affected by it directly 
through the nervous system. Other functions also, 
especially those of digestion, are enfeebled by its 
abundant use, thereby preventing nutrition and 
producing emaciation and general debility, and, as 
a secondary consequence, impairing the tone of all 
the other functions and diminishing the growth 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 9 

and development of the entire body, and also of 
the mental powers. 

The fact that it is employed for the medicinal 
treatment of certain symptoms, especially those of 
the nervous system, is sufficient evidence of the 
properties above mentioned, while the peculiar and 
powerful character of its action upon the various 
functions of the body, prove indisputably that to- 
bacco is solely a medicinal substance, and that its 
use in health must necessarily impair the integrity 
and soundness of these same functions, which are 
the most important of all. Its use is to be regarded, 
therefore, in a similar light as that of opium, the 
value of which as a medicine is very great, when 
judiciously administered, but when swallowed in a 
state of health, as is practised by the class known 
as " Opium Eaters," its effects are invariably inju- 
rious and frequently fatal. 

Its most direct and manifest effect when first ap- 
plied to the animal system, in almost any form, is 
that of an emetic. In illustration of this property 
the writer hereof well remembers the results upon 
his person. When about ten years of age, he was 
induced by a school mate one morning after break- 
fast, and before school time, to smoke a mild segar. 
A few puffs, very much to his surprise, sufficed to 
cause a total loss of the meal taken a short time 



10 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

previously, and kept him in a state of nausea dur- 
ing all the morning, rendering him incompetent to 
maintain his position in the school classes. 

It is sometimes employed for the same purpose 
in medical treatment, but very rarely, because of 
the excessive prostration it produces, this effect 
being more marked than by the use of any other 
emetic, not even excepting Ipecac or Tartar Emetic. 
This same exhausting influence upon the nervous 
system, and upon the circulation of the blood, is 
observable in many habituated to it, even when its 
emetic power is not manifested. 

Its narcotic property produces a depressing and 
sedative effect, which, when not needed for the 
relief of suffering, is more or less exhaustive of the 
nervous functions, and hence depresses nearly all 
the other functions, especially the digestive, cir- 
culating and muscular powers, which depend upon 
the integrity and capacity of the nervous system 
for their full and healthful operations. 

From several distinguished medical authorities, 
illustrations will now be quoted of the evil influ- 
ences of tobacco manifested by other striking 
effects. 

Mons. Decaisne, in a communication to the 
French Academy of Sciences, exhibits another 
clause in the heavy bill of indictment against its 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 11 

use. In the course of three years he met, among 
88 inveterate smokers, 21 instances of marked 
intermission of the pulse, occurring in men from 
27 to 42 years of age, which could not be explained 
by any organic lesion of the heart, thus proving it 
to be caused by disturbance of the nerves which 
control that organ. In nine of these cases, when 
the use of tobacco was abandoned, the normal 
action of the circulation was restored. The con- 
dition of the heart in these cases he terms " Nar- 
cotism,"* and is characterized by intermission of 
the movements of that organ, and of the pulsation 
of the arteries. A suspension of the practice of 
smoking is sufficient in some cases to cause an en- 
tire disappearance of this irregularity. 

The opinion has long been entertained that 
tobacco is a frequent cause of loss of sight. The 
diseased condition of the eyes produced by it 
is a species of amaurosis (paralysis of the optic 
nerve), commencing with symptoms of functional 
brain disease, and alterations of the supply of blood 
to the optic nerve and retina. These affections 
occur in large excess in adult males, being very 
infrequent in women, and a large portion of those 
who suffer from it have been smokers. 

* A species of nutnbness characterized by vertigo, and a de- 
gree of intoxication or apoplexy, accompanied with convulsive 
motions. 



12 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

Mods. Yiardin has reported three cases of the 
same disease caused by smoking. In the treat- 
ment of these cases, the quantity of tobacco 
smoked was reduced under his direction, and the 
sight was restored in the course of a few weeks. 

At a meeting of the Harveian Society of London 
in November, 1864, Dr. Drysdale stated that he 
had recently remarked cases of jaundice in healthy 
young men, evidently produced by great smoking, 
such as three quarters of an ounce to an ounce of 
tobacco a day. Profuse smoking, he believed, 
tended to lower all the appetites, whether for ex- 
ercise, food, or sex. 

Mr. Curgenven observed that dyspepsia and pal- 
pitation of the heart were among the most com- 
mon consequences of excessive smoking. A gen- 
tleman from Havana, a patient of his, an excessive 
smoker, who rarely had a segar out of his mouth, 
had, one day, an attack of syncope (sudden and 
complete loss of sensation and motion), which he 
had attributed to a habit during many years ol 
smoking on an empty stomach. A medical friend 
of his had suffered greatly from nervousness and 
dyspepsia, owing to excessive smoking. He left 
off the habit and recovered. 

Mr. Weeden Cooke observed that tobacco smok- 
ing affected different persons very differently. 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 13 

Many gentlemen, from 30 to 35 years old, came 
to him 7 complaining of impotence ; and he bad gen- 
erally found them profuse smokers. He supposed 
tobacco, like opium, was a useful drug in some 
cases, but, like opium, liable to injury when taken 
in excess. 

The President said excessive smoking caused 
nervous diseases, conjoined with dyspepsia and 
deranged liver ; dilated pupil and amaueosis were 
caused, he believed, by it, and in a case he had 
lately sent to an eminent oculist, the ophthalmo- 
scope had shown that gentleman that the disease 
was caused by the habit. 

Dr. Royston mentioned the case of a ship chan- 
dler in Liverpool, an excessive smoker, who had 
acute inflammation of the liver, after an excessive 
bout of smoking ; also the case of a clerk on the 
Great Western Railway, who seldom had a pipe 
out of his mouth, and who had fallen into a fit of 
intense prostration and died, Dr. Royston believed 
in consequence of his profuse indulgence in smok- 
ing. Ho post mortem lesions were found. 

The truthfulness of these opinions was strikingly 
confirmed during the preparation of this essay, by 
the observation of the writer, in the case of a man 
52 years of age, suffering severely from dyspepsia, 
dysentery, nervous irritation and other painful 



14 THE TTSE OP TOBACCO. 

symptoms, who applied * for relief therefrom by 
medical treatment. Tbe cause of the troubles 
was clearly the habit of pipe-smoking to the ex- 
tent of 7 to 10 times a day, using a quarter of a 
pound of tobacco each week. He had continued 
the practice sixteen years, and for several years 
past he has complained of serious disturbances of 
the nervous system, amounting, on one occasion, 
to slight convulsions, which, without prompt 
treatment would very likely have proved fatal. 

His appetite had been so much reduced by the 
habit, that on many occasions when called to his 
meals, he preferred to go into the open air to 
. smoke his pipe, and thus greatly reduced his 
strength. Upon being instructed as to the real 
cause of his physical troubles, and the danger to 
which his mental powers were subject, he imme- 
diately abandoned the practice and rapidly recov- 
ered bis health. 

All the friends of our Eepublic must feel grieved 
at the noted illustration of the influence of tobacco 
smoking in producing dyspepsia, manifested in the 
case of one of the most popular Heroes of the Un- 
ion Army, the responsibility of whose present po- 
sition requires the most vigorous health of all his 
physical and mental faculties, but which, from his 
profuse indulgence in the habit, are likely at any 



THE USE OF TOBACCO, 15 

moment to be seriously impaired, to the injury of 
the Government, as well as of himself. 

It is specially desirable by the whole country 
that in his particular case the favor of total absti- 
nence from this useless and dangerous practice 
may be speedily Geant-ed. 

Cancek. 

Cancer of the lips frequently occurs among smo- 
kers, especially on the side on which the segar or 
pipe is held. From this form of cancer women 
ire almost entirely exempt. 

The predominance of cancer observed in women, 
)f almost all the organs, ceases, also, with respect 
o the stomach, which is found to be more frequent 
n men, in the proportion of 53 per cent. The 
langer from chewing tobacco in this relation is 
T ery great, especially as tobacco containing 6 per 
;ent. of nicotine is usually employed, and that du- 
ing fasting. Organic affections of the stomach 
,re of great frequency among sailors who indulge 
q this habit. 

Diseases of Teeth and Jaw-Bone. 

Smoking has long been a popular remedy for 
toothache ; the sailor's quid has a special reputa- 
ion for this purpose. "We now refer to the case 



16 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

of an unfortunate patient, whose application of 
the remedy in a concentrated form set up inflam- 
matory action which destroyed a large portion 
of his jaw. Dr. Paget, his medical adviser, 
states that to relieve himself from the suffering 
produced by a decayed tooth, he introduced into 
the hollow of it some of the oil of tobacco whicli 
had accumulated in the stem of his pipe. Violent 
inflammation of the periosteum (the membrane 
covering the bone) was set up, ending in 
death of the osseous tissue. Just under his left 
lower jaw the skin was ulcerated, and there was a 
cavity communicating with the dead bone. Dr. 
Paget removed several of the teeth, and then, 
without making any incision, contrived with a 
strong forceps to remove several portions of the 
dead bone representing a portion of the base, the 
angle, and a large part above the angle of the left 
lower jaw. 

This case well illustrates a source of danger not 
generally recognized. Foul pipes and decayed 
teeth are very common. Pipe smokers are fre- 
quently disgusted by sucking into their mouths a 
few drops of the highly pungent and nauseous 
product of the combustion of tobacco. 

The following testimonial of a very distin- 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 17 

guished hygienist can doubtless be confirmed by 
thousands of tobacco smokers. 
Extract of a letter from Dr c Dio Lewis : 

" Lexington, May 13, 1867. 
" In my own mouth I have the most unmistak- 
able proof of the mischievous influence of tobacco 
smoke, having while I was in college been a great 
: smoker, and spoiled two teeth above and two below ; 
parts that were directly affected by inhalation of 
the smoke" 
In addition to its effects upon the teeth, the tip 
\ of the tongue which also receives the deleterious 
fluid, is often blistered by it. 

There is good reason for the belief that maDy 
cases of disease of the jaw-bone, whose causes 
have been obscure, were the result of poisoning 
of the teeth by this liquid, and the possibility of 
\ this, as a source of disease, should be constantly 
borne in mind. 

The manner in which this destruction of the 
teeth is effected is by the Nicotine contained in 
■ the smoke and in the tobacco itself being absorbed 
'' by the saliva and by the particles of food remain- 
; ing in the mouth after eating ; it is thus brought 
in direct contact with the teeth, destroying the 
^ enamel first, and afterwards rotting their whole 
structure. It is not unreasonable to suppose that 



18 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

a considerable portion of the services now required 
of dentists in this and other countries, which have 
enormously increased of late years, is derived 
from the tooth-rotting effects of tobacco smoking 
and chewing. 

The peculiarly disgusting odor of the breath of 
every smoker and chewer, for a long time after 
the practice, is positive proof of the retention in 
the mouth of the poisonous essence to which the 
teeth-destroying effects are attributable. The 
same effluvium is also carried into the lungs by 
inhalation, thus showing how the general influ- 
ences hereafter described are produced. 

Another popular idea of the value of tobacco 
which has largely promoted its use, is its supposed 
property of preventing malarious and other fevers. 
There has never been offered any scientifically 
based reason for this opinion, though it has largely 
prevailed among smokers, &c The following 
statement given by an experienced physician, Dr. 
Samuel E. Wills, most decidedly demonstrates the 
absurdity of this notion. 

" Cecilton, Maryland, Sep. 23, 1867. 
" To the Editor of the Med. and Surg., Reporter : 

" In reply to Dr. W. S. King's inquiry in tbe 
"Keporter of the 14th inst, relative to the pro- 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 19 

"phylactic virtues of tobacco in malarious fevers, 
" I beg leave to say, — my observations for the last 
* 25 years as a practitioner of medicine, part of the 
"time in the Chickahominy region of Virginia, 
" and the last 20 years on the Eastern shore of 
"Maryland, do not corroborate the theory that 
u tobacco possesses any such property. Habitual 
" chewers and smokers, both women and men, 
" have been as frequently numbered among my 
"intermittent cases, as those who never use 
" tobacco." 

In further confirmation of this view, Dr. John 
Wright, of Clinton, Illinois, writes that with good 
opportunities of observation, he has never seen a 
single case where he thought tobacco acted as a 
prophylactic in malarious diseases. He thinks 
that, if it had any such claims, they would have 
been put forward by those who are seeking ex- 
cuses to justify them in the use of this filthy weed. 

Furthermore, he says that even if it should be 
proven to be a prophylactic, he would rather have 
the ague than use it, especially while we have 
such a reliable prophylactic as quinine is known to 
be, when properly used. 

James M. Clairborne, M. D., of Stewart sville, 
Indiana, in a letter to the same medical Journal, 



20 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

dated November 8th, 1867, writes to the same ef- 
fect as follows : 

u As my practice is principally in the malarial 
" region of the "Wabash and Black rivers, I have 
" good opportunities for observing the prophylactic 
" effects of medicines, &c, and I have utterly 
" failed to observe any prophylactic properties of 
u Tobacco in malarial diseases ; but, on the other 
u hand, see numerous cases of malarial disease in 
" persons who are habitual users of the l filthy 
" weed.' And like Dr. Wright, of Illinois, in view 
" of the prophylactic property of Quinia in this 
"disease, I consider the habitual and excessive 
"use of tobacco the greater affliction of the two." 

POISONING BY TOBACCO JUICE. 

Dr. M. A. Marchant relates the following case. 
A smoker, in drawing air strongly through an ob- 
structed pipe, in order to make it more permeable, 
took it into his mouth and involuntarily swallowed 
a dislodged plug of inspissated tobacco juice. In ' 
a short time his head became heavy, his thoughts 
confused, his speech indistinct, he had noises in 
the ears, a disagreeable feeling in the epigastrium 
(pit of the stomach), and dryness of the throat. 

Believing that the open air would remove these 



THE USE OF TOBAOOO. 21 

feelings, the patient went out ; but the headache 
and giddiness increased, and he at last fell down 
insensible, in which condition he was, after some 
time, found by a passenger and carried into the 
house. Copious and repeated vomiting then set in ; 
consciousness returned, but the patient fell into a 
restless, somnolent state. He had severe headache, 
malaise, and faintness, during the whole of the 
next day. The spontaneous recovery may be at- 
tributed either to the small amount of nicotine 
contained in the plug, or to the imperfect absorp- 
tion of the poison contained in the hardened plug. 

PAKALYSI8. 

That affections of the nervous system have 
enormously increased in other countries, as well 
as in this, especially in France, there is positive 
evidence ; and this increase is found to be in men, 
almost entirely made up of cases of progressive 
paralysis (now forming more than 60 per cent, of 
the total in France), and whenever, in the asylums, 
the history of such cases has been investigated, 
their dependence on the abuse of tobacco has been 
rendered obvious. In 1856, a committee from the 
Queen's College of Physicians in London, in a re- 
port on the cause of death by apoplexy, within 
the city, stated that the bills of mortality from this 



22 THE USB OF TOBACCO. 

disease were very large, and that 7 in 9 cases 
of paralysis and apoplexy were caused by the use 
of tobacco ; of tbis number more tban one half 
were caused by snuffing. la confirmation of this 
is the rarity with which this form of the disease 
is met with in female lunatics. 

Mr. Jolly's investigations have induced him to 
come to the conclusion that this abuse of tobacco 
is far more operative in the induction of this form 
of paralysis than is the abuse of alcohol. Among 
other facts tending to prove this, he adduces this 
one : in certain provinces in France — as Saintaigne, 
Limousin, Bretagne, &c, in which there is but little 
smoking, and an enormous consumption of brandy, 
progressive paralysis is well nigh unknown. 

Another effect of the protracted use of Tobacco, 
either by smoking, chewing or snuffing, is the im- 
pairment of the sensibilities of the nerves of sense, 
with which the smoke, or the tobacco itself, comes 
in immediate contact. These are the senses of 
taste and smell, the sense of sight having already 
been shown to be often seriously impaired by it. 
When snuff is first drawn into the nostrils, it ex- 
cites violent sneezing and copious discharges of 
mucus, which continues a considerable time, but 
when it has been practised so long that these re- 
sults are diminished, then it is almost invariably 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 23 

certain that the delicate sensibility of the olfactory 
nerve is greatly impaired, and often destroyed: 
and thus, one of the protective powers furnished 
by nature against injurious odors is totally lost, 
rendering many external influences inappreciable 
and dangerous. 

The same remark is applicable to the sense of 
taste, from the practice of smoking and chewing 
rendering the gustatory nerve insensible. 

In a person of good constitution, the suspension 
of the habit may restore these senses, as has often 
been noticed ; but when continued, it is very plain 
that the risk of injury to the health from external 
sources is greatly increased, as these senses act as 
sentinels, guarding against the approach of inimical 
influences. 

Dr. Cullen, one of the most able and distinguished 
i physicians of Great Britain during the 18 th cen- 
tury, mentions the case of a lady who had been 
accustomed for more than twenty years to take 
snuff at all times of the day ; she found, at length, 
that indulging much in the use of it took away her 
appetite, and in process of time that a single pinch 
taken any time before dinner, palled her appetite 
for that meal. But when she abstained from the 
use of it, her appetite returned. There can be no 
reasonable doubt that were all snuff takers willing 



24 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

to state their experience in this respect, immense 
numbers of similar character would be found to 
exist, and from excess of smoking, this and other 
effects referred to would doubtless be discov- 
ered. 

One of the many temptations for indulgence in 
tobacco smoking is the opinion expressed by some 
professional men that the moderate use of it after 
meals tends to promote digestion. The reason 
given for this is that it excites a large flow of 
saliva, and thereby sympathetically increases the 
secretion of gastric juice. Admitting this to be 
true for argument sake, the idea is insufficient to 
justify indulgence in the habit, for the following 
reasons : First, because of the ultimate dangers 
threatened by it, and, second, because there are 
many other equally good promoters of digestion, 
which may be employed with perfect safety, and 
without any evil influences upon either the physi- 
cal or mental powers. Third, a still more potent 
objection is one heretofore mentioned, viz. : that 
its frequent practice, which is an almost certain 
result, is very apt to produce dyspepsia of the 
most serious character, besides the numerous other 
evils heretofore, and hereafter to be, described. 

Another serious disorder has also been noticed, 
as derived from the practice of smoking, viz. : 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 25 

Deafness. M. Triquet states,* that, in both smok- 
ers and drinkers, an insidious and obstinate form 
of Otitis (inflammation of the ear) frequently be- 
comes developed. 

There is a kind of numbness or torpor of the 
ear, with a sense of cold, but rarely any pain, and 
no wax in the orifice. Frequently both ears are 
affected, but one has always commenced being so 
before, and is more deaf than the other. The 
deafness, without being very troublesome at first, 
rapidly increases. Noises in the ears almost always 
exist at an early period, and it is of importance 
to notice that they assume a hissing sound, eventu- 
ating in a paralytic condition of the auditory 
nerve, whereby the sense of hearing is more or 
less impaired and often permanently lost. Those 

j patients alone are susceptible of cure who consent 
to leave off the bad habit which produces the de- 
rangement. 
Numerous other instances might be quoted, 

: illustrative of the injurious and often fatal proper- 
ties, but the preceding facts demonstrate sufficiently 
the poisonous influence of tobacco upon the physi- 

i cal functions, and the published cases are but a 
small fraction of what must have occurred ; it is 

* Annales d'Oculistique. Amer. Jour. Med. Science, Oct.. 
1865. 



26 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

therefore very plain that the sufferers from the in- 
dulgence in the pernicious practice of tobacco chew- 
ing and smoking, are far more numerous than is 
known to the public, and there can be no reasona- 
ble doubt that many lives are lost thereby, which 
are attributed either to other and erroneous causes, 
or included under the common verdict "the visi- 
tation of Providence," inasmuch as no organic 
lesions are discoverable. 

There is yet another branch of this subject, com- 
pared with which the physical effects heretofore 
alluded to are of comparatively trifling importance, 
viz. : the disturbance and impairment of the mental 
faculties. The proofs of this are as plain as those 
already given of its physical effects, demonstra- 
tions of which will now be given, showing that 
Mcotine, like Opium and Alcohol, has a very 
marked and peculiar influence in that direc- 
tion. 

Among the many known cases of its influence 
upon the intellectual powers, the following inter- 
esting facts are reported by M. Bertillon, in the 
Union Medicale, derived from an investigation 
made at the French Polytechnic School in 1855-56. 
He investigated 1 60 of the pupils who had under- 
gone their examination, and what influence the 
fact of their having been smokers had upon the 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 27 

results. As large a proportion as 102 of these pu- 
pils were smokers. It was found, in the classifica- 
tion by merit which followed the examinations, that 
while in the highest series a third or fourth of the 
pupils were smokers, in the lower series three- 
fourths, and in the lowest series four-fifths were 
smokers. Again, while among 66 confirmed smok- 
ers, their average rank of 94.5 on their entrance 
into the school had sunk to 98.3 (the larger the 
number the lower the rank), in the case of the 60 
pupils who were not smokers, their rank of 71 on 
entrance (already 23 ahead of the smokers), rose 
; to 67.7 — being, as the result of nine months' work 
in common, 30 in advance of the smokers. This 
result of the inquiry, as regards these limited 
numbers, was conformable to the prior experience 
of the school. 

In this case, the pupils being chiefly a younger 
class of smokers, they probably indulged in the 
practice to an extent comparatively moderate, and 
yet the influence of it upon the intellectual facul- 
ties, as compared with those of the same age and 
class who refrained from the vicious habit, is very 
plain. 

A further and more serious result of the free 
use of tobacco now to be mentioned, is the total 
impairment of the intellectual faculties, in other 






28 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

words, the production of Insanity. In the reports 
of the Lunatic Asylums of this and other countries, 
this is very frequently included in the list of 
causes of this sad condition, and the evidences of 
its influence upon the mental powers are so direct 
and clear as to be unmistakable. The great 
increase in the numbers of lunatics during recent 
years, in various civilized countries, presents a 
marked parallel with the increased use of this 
poisonous substance. 

For example, in his report for 1866, Dr. Kirk- 
bride, Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Hospital 
for the Insane, states : — " 6 cases were clearly 
" attributable to the uses of tobacco. The perni- 
u cious effects thereof are much greater than is 
"generally supposed. In certain temperaments 
" it produces symptoms of an alarming character, 
" and not unfrequently is the cause of obscure and 
" obstinate ailments, connected especially with the 
"gastric and nervous systems. This has often 
" been seen here very strikingly, when patients, 
"after being without a supply for a long time, 
" have again commenced its use. 

"Even the most obtuse of those about the 
" patients could not fail in many cases to observe 
" its effects. The use of tobacco and the use of 
" alcoholic stimulants seem to have at least one 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 29 

" somewhat similar effect on those who have long 
" been addicted to them, and that is an inability 
"to perceive any injurious consequences in their 
"own cases, however obvious they may be to 
" most others. The effects of tobacco on most of 
" the inmates of a hospital for the insane are such, 
" that, on hygienic grounds, even if there were no 
" others, its use should be entirely interdicted in 
"all such institutions. I have never seen the 
"slightest injury result from the immediate and 
"total breaking off of the habit of using tobacco, 
"and the experience of this hospital is a large one 
" in this particular." 

A very important fact illustrative of the rela- 
tions of Tobacco and Insanity has recently been 
brought to ]ight in France by a paper laid before 
the Academy of Sciences, viz. : that insanity in- 

« creases in proportion to the amount of tobacco 
used. Thus it is said that between 1812 and 1832 
(20 years) the tax on tobacco produced 28,000,000 
of francs, and the lunatic asylums of the country 
contained 8,000 patients. Since that time, the to- 
bacco revenue has reached the sum of 180,000,000 
of francs, and the number of lunatic and paralytic 
patients has increased to 44,000. 

This increase of revenue is about 650 per cent. 

\ and the increase of the disease 550 per cent., very 



30 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

nearly the same proportions. These facts are 
certainly well worth the consideration of every 
human being, especially of those with whom the 
pernicious practice has already become a fixed 
habit, or a second nature. 

Let all reflect, ere it be too late, on the frightful 
warning contained in the above statistics. The 
last words of the individual who reported them, 
should be deeply impressed upon every mind, 
especially of the young. He said, "Immoderate 
" use of tobacco, and more especially of the pipe, 
" produces a weakness of the brain, and of the 
"spinal marrow, which causes madness." 

The following interesting story, illustrative and 
confirmatory of the views of the officials just 
quoted, is extracted from a New York paper of 
November 15, 1867. 

"Love and Lunacy. Brought to an Asylum 
by Crossed Love and Excessive Tobacco Chew- 
ing. — Some 12 months ago a young man, who was 
then employed in the Nashville and Decatur Rail- 
road car shops, a steady, industrious mechanic, 
formed the acquaintance of a lady about 15 years 
of age. An attachment speedily sprang up be- 
tween the two, which resulted in an engagement. 

" The first troubles arose from the objections 
urged by the parents of the young lady. The old 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 31 

folks preferred another man. In anticipation of 
his marriage, however, the suitor had saved from 
his wages a considerable amount of money. He 
could now give the object of his affections a com- 
fortable home, and saw no reason for waiting. 

" About two weeks ago he asked that the wed- 
ding might take place at an early day, but his fi- 
ancee wished to defer the nuptials for two months, 
as at the expiration of that time she would be six- 
teen. This, with renewed opposition from the 
parents, seems to have weighed heavily upon his 

, mind. He was an inveterate chewer of tobacco, 
and had often consumed nearly half a pound per 
day. This habit had long been at work undermin- 
ing his nervous system, and his sorrows made him 
all the more persistent in masticating the weed. 
His quid was his constant companion. The more 
he thought of his crossed love, the harder he 
chewed. There was no limit to his unnatural in- 
dulgence. Every sigh was suggestive of a fresh 
mouthful ; every reminiscence of. the dear one was 
followed by copious expectoration. 

" The rest is soon told. About two weeks ago he 
began to exhibit unmistakable signs of lunacy, and 
is now under a physician's charge. His mental 
condition is directly attributed by the physicians 

! to the excessive use of tobacco, aggravated by the 



32 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

effects of disappointed love on a weakened intel- 
lect." 

Having thus demonstrated the effects of tobacco 
upon both the physiological and intellectual fac- 
ulties of the individuals using it, even in the very 
common form of smoking, and more especially of 
chewing it, the next point to be considered is the 
influence of the practice of smoking upon others. 
In the first place, the presence of smoke in the air, 
derived from the combustion of any vegetable 
substance whatever, is offensive to the eyes and 
nose of all who see or inhale it, and moreover it 
is injurious to the lungs and blood. The principle 
ingredient of the smoke of all combustible sub- 
stances is carbon, from which it derives its dark 
color. It is often deposited in the form of soot, 
showing the great quantity of this material de- 
rived from ordinary fuel. But tobacco smoke is 
doubly offensive and injurious, in consequence of 
its containing nicotine (the poisonous oil of the 
plant) combined with the carbon. It is this which 
gives to tobacco smoke its peculiar odor, so offen- 
sive to many, and necessarily injurious to the 
health of every one who inhales it. 

If every human being should understand and 
appreciate the true value of pure air when inhaled, 
and the injurious influence of any foreign sub- 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 33 

stance when absorbed into the blood through the 
lungs, the writer hereof cannot doubt that tobacco 
smoking would be totally discarded voluntarily, 
and perhaps legally. Under this view, it is plain 
that the practice referred to is a nuisance to all 
who refrain from it ; and further still, the foul odor 
of the clothing, hair, and breath, produced by the 
absorption of the smoke, renders the person of the 
smoker also very offensive. No one who properly 
appreciates the value of social intercourse, and the 
i propriety of keeping his person in a genteel and 
, pleasant condition, can indulge in so foul and 
offensive a practice, and every one who does so, 
should be wholly excluded from society for both 
! sanitary and social reasons. 

"When practised even in the public streets, in the 
open air, and especially in large halls where peo- 
ple congregate, and in cars and other travelling 
vehicles, particularly where ventilation is disre- 
garded, the effects of the smoke is offensive and 
injurious to great numbers of people. 

Under such circumstances, it is justly regarded 
as a public nuisance, and, as in all cases of like 
character, it should be liable to suppression and 
prevention by the proper authorities. 

The placard frequently presented to our obser- 
vation when passing through the streets of cities, 



84 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

" Commit no nuisance under penalty of the law" 
should be understood to be equally applicable to 
this foul and unnatural emanation, as it is to 
those which are the demands of nature, no more 
injurious, and less offensive. Especially on cars, 
in hotels, and all other places of public resort, 
should the restriction be rigidly enforced. 

The immoral influences of this vile habit are 
sometimes as clearly manifest as are its physical, 
mental, and social evils. The irritability of the 
nervous system, and the depression of the mental 
powers produced by it, are very apt to result in 
diminished appreciation of, and. indifference to, 
the moral obligations of the individual ; in conse- 
quence whereof evil deeds and the neglect of in- 
tellectual and religious duties are very apt to 
occur. 

One of the most common and serious effects is 
the demand for alcoholic drinks, to satisfy the 
extreme thirst, and obviate the prostration of the 
physical functions resulting from the high tempera- 
ture and the narcotic influence of the burning 
weed. 

There is no doubt that a large amount of the 
intemperance now so prevalent, is the immediate 
and direct effect of tobacco chewing and smoking, 
and no individual, however safe he may feel him- 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 35 

self against intemperance before yielding to the 
temptation of tobacco smoking, can rely upon 
himself to avoid it after considerable indulgence 
in the latter practice, as both his moral and intel- 
lectual sensibilities are almost certain to become 
impaired, which fact he cannot himself appreciate. 
It is therefore difficult and almost impossible for 
a confirmed lover of tobacco to avoid the terrible 
evils of intemperance. 

Having thus demonstrated, by numerous verified 
facts, the very frequent and almost universal 

- influences of this singular plant, upon the physical, 
intellectual, moral and social qualities of man, it 
now only remains to decide whether that being 
made in the image of God, and endowed with 

■ faculties superior to all other created beings, and 
alone possessed of the power to discriminate be- 
tween right and wrong, is justifiable to the least 
extent in indulging in a habit which impairs those 
noble faculties thus bestowed upon him. 

Every habitual tobacco chewer or smoker, 
when in good health, if able to understand, must 
admit the wickedness of opium-eating, because of 
its impairment of the noble faculties which dis- 
tinguish him from the brute, and that death, 
when produced by it, which is sometimes the 
case, is correctly denominated Suicide, 



36 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

The evidence herein presented furnishes ample 
proof that very similar effects result from the use 
of Tobacco; wherefore, as the indulgers in this 
habit impair to a greater or less degree the physi- 
cal and mental faculties which they are bound 
by every religious consideration to preserve and 
improve, they are liable to the same indictment 
as the Opium-Eater, and to the same ultimate 
penalty. 

Finally, the injurious and often serious influ- 
ences of tobacco upon the physical and mental 
faculties, are proven sufficient to convince any - 
reasonable person that no indulger in the use of it 
can be safely relied upon for the performance of 
any engagement, requiring a perfectly sound and 
healthy body and mind. When a contract is 
being made by a tobacco smoker or chewer, he 
may be perfectly clear and strong in the qualities 
required, yet the continuance of the habit must 
render his capacity uncertain, for at any time 
the heart or brain may become involved in the 
influences of the poison, as in many previous in- 
stances. In the ordinary business relations of 
life, particularly those requiring special keenness 
of intellect, the filthy weed may at any time 
impose an injunction, and commit its unnutural 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 37 

employer to the Hospital, the Asylum, or the 
Grave. 

This same consideration is also clearly applicable 
to the business of Life Insurance. 
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